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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

All apologies

My quest to stipple a quilt continues, and I thank you all for your assistance along the way as I pick your collective brains for advice. However, I need to publicly apologize because in my feeble attempt to praise and publicize the amazing Leah Day, I mentioned that I thought her filler designs for quilting were for more arty quilts.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Leah pointed out that in order to use them for "regular" (for lack of a better word) they just need to be made larger and looser. Mea maxima culpa, Leah.

ANYWAY. All I am trying to figure out is some goddamn stippling. The thing about stippling is that there seems to be a rhythm to it, a pattern within the randomness. There must be a way to know when to curve back, how far to go, when to run off the edge and start again in a new spot. Fuck if I know, man. I'm told that after doing it for an entire quilt, that I will get it by the end. Somehow, I doubt that.

But to distract myself, I started thinking about borders and how it would be neat to have a separate border design, and I began rooting around in a box of stencils that my mom gave me when, in a moment of insanity, I mentioned that I might be interested in learning to hand quilt. And looky what I found in there:

Stippling stencils!!! Naturally, I tried to make use of them, but all I have are some chalk pencils, and that is WAY too boring, trying to fill in those little holes with a piece of chalk that is just a bit too big for the purpose. So I went back to just flailing blindly, like I always do. It works for me.

I have decided to go with a soft lavender, same color front and back, and to just say "fuckit" to the bobbin tension. At the same time that I made the quilt, I made a table runner out of the same material, so I pin basted it this morning and, after a hearty lunch, I plan to attack it with thread and turn it into something unholy and thoroughly offensive. Pictures soon!

I had a hard time with stippling until I read an article that Dawn Cavanagh from APQS wrote. It pretty much said that it's ok to cross a line here and there, or not have all of them the exact same distance apart. Certain things about YOUR stippling will become your 'signature'. Just have fun. As far as the stencils, do you have an unused paint brush, foam brush, or similar laying around? Use that and flour or corn starch to mark your lines....if you plan on washing the quilt afterwards. I wouldn't suggest it for a wall hanging that will never be washed.

so this is probably "wrong" in the quilting world, but here goes....I find stippling the easiest when I use a combination of loops and squiggles. Somehow the addition of loops gives you a second option to fill the space and (for me) results in a more even looking quilt. I think I have a pretty good shot of an example on my bird quilt, or my hula girls quilt if you want to go look..... good luck!

I think of puzzle pieces, aliens and cartoon cactus when I am stippling. Or gingerbread men. Making arms, legs and a head keeps the bumps moving in different directions. And I think your first attempt looks great - it WILL get better with practice!